REFMAD Farms Highlights Dragonfruit Benefits from Hopia to Bath Soaps
REFMAD Farms Dragon Fruit Plantation & Resort, located in Brgy. Paayas in the municipality of Burgos in Ilocos Norte, is known to many as the biggest Dragon Fruit farm in Ilocos!
REFMAD Dragonfruit Plantation & Resort welcomes their guests to tour inside their farm for just Php 10 per head!
Dragon Fruit, which is prevalent in Southeast Asia, sprouts from a specific cactus specie and is characterized by its bright pink to red fruit, which when cut in half, will reveal white flesh.
IMAGE Refmad Farms Dragon Fruit Plantation & Resort Facebook Page
From when REFMAD Farms started planting in 2005 and their founding in 2006, many began to see the true benefits of the fruit. For one, it is known to boost your immune system and treat ailments such as constipation, spasticity, and seizures among others.
From its roots up to its flowers, literally from tip to tip, the dragon fruit is used to produce vegan-friendly and fully organic products. These include the hopia or moon cake filled with the dragon fruit’s dried flower, lumpiang shanghai (Filipino spring rolls), tea made out of the dragonfruit’s roots, and the first-ever dragon fruit coffee in Southeast Asia.
Dragonfruit Hopia (Php 50)
Dragonfruit Shanghai (Filipino Spring Rolls) (Php 100)
Other products such as coffee, tea, and wine made of dragonfruit are also available inside. (Php 150 to Php 420)
What’s more is that REFMAD also makes a moisturizing and anti-aging bath soap made of its stem among many others.
Tip: If you plan to visit REFMAD to see the dragon fruits blooming, be sure to visit from May to November as this is the dragon fruit season.
After this season, day time becomes shorter and so dragon fruits cannot complete their photosynthesis. Therefore, REFMAD ensures its availability all-year-round by lighting them every night for three hours.
Dragonfruit Nursery inside REFMAD
Popularly known as simply “the Dragon Fruit Farm”, REFMAD is a go-to place for many tourists as it is not solely a plantation, but also a restaurant and a resort with accommodations lined up to give you a relaxing place to stay.
REFMAD’s Cabana is good for 4 persons (Php 2,500/night)
So enjoy the farm life at REFMAD Farms Dragon Fruit Plantation & Resort, and see for yourself the richness of Ilocos Norte’s flora.
How to get here:
- From Laoag City proper, head north onto Pan-Philippine Highway until you reach Brgy. Paayas in the municipality of Burgos. Upon seeing Paayas Elementary School, turn right. Go straight ahead until you reach REFMAD Dragonfruit Plantation and Resort.
Details
Address: Brgy. Paayas, Burgos, Ilocos Norte
Business Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Mon to Sun)
Contact Information: 0928-210-6664 / 0917-336-6969
E-mail Address: journeybyrefmad@gmail.com
Website: dragonfruitfarmrve.com
Facebook: Refmad Farms Dragon Fruit Plantation & Resort
This first appeared in Philippine Primer Japanese Magazine’s March 2019 issue.
